Kimberly-Clark Professional is introducing an automated toilet paper dispenser for institutional use. Like electronic paper towel dispensers, you wave your hand in front of a motion sensor and it spits out the toilet paper. Thing is, the system is preset to issue just five sheets at a time. Fortunately, it can be reprogrammed. From the Associated Press:
"Most people will take the amount given," says (Kimberly-Clark's Richard) Thorne. Waxing philosophical, he adds, "People generally in life will take what you give them."
Kimberly-Clark turned to focus groups and years of internal research to determine just how much is right.
Americans typically use twice as much toilet paper as Europeans — as much as an arm's length each pull, Thorne says. The company decided the best length is about 20 inches — or precisely five standard toilet paper squares, though the machine can also be adjusted to churn out 16 inches or 24 inches, depending on the demand.
Link (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)
